Chuck Versus the Conspiracy
by jesssanchy
Summary: Two years after Sarah loses her memory; she fell in love with Chuck all over again, and remembered everything. Story starts in Hawaii when Sarah gets shot on a hike. Chuck pieces together a massive conspiracy again. Can he save his family once more?
1. Hawaii seemed lovely at first

"Oh my God! Sarah, please, stay with me. Can you hear me?" Chuck cried. One second, they were at the top of the world; then the next, it seemed like he was at the bottom of the ocean. He dialed Ellie, hoping she'd pick up immediately.

"Chuck…" Sarah coughed up. Blood was gushing out of her mouth.

"Baby, I'm right here, stay with me!" He was panicking. He pressed his hand against the wound "I'm not going anywhere. Fight Sarah, fight!" Suddenly he heard a voice on the phone pick up.

"Chuck! Are you alright wha—?"

"Sarah's been shot! I need you here now!" Chuck pleaded.

"Oh my God! I'll be there right away!" he dropped the phone, staring at the wound. _There's too much blood Chuck, do something!_ Immediately, he let go of her hand and ripped his shirt off. He ripped it into a large strip and wrapped it tightly around her.

The pain was unreal; as if someone jammed a jackhammer right into her chest. Must… keep… fighting… She wanted to scream, but lacked the strength to. She glanced at Chuck.

"I'm so sorry…" she managed to whisper. She couldn't stay awake any longer. "I love… you."

"Sarah no! Come on, baby please! Don't go…" He felt his heart break into a million pieces at the sight of his dying wife. You can do this Sarah. Baby please, I need you to keep fighting…

"Chuck!" Ellie called from a distance. He waved his hands to signal her. She jumped down from the helicopter along with Captain Awesome. They raced to put all sorts of tubes and needles into her. Chuck watched from aside, still holding onto Sarah's hand.

"She took a critical bullet to the chest, Ellie, do something!" Chuck cried. Ellie looked at Devon.

"We're losing a pulse, we need to get to Honolulu General Now!" they stuck a neck brace on her, transferring her onto a gurney and ran over to the emergency copter. Chuck ran behind them.

"Let's go now!" Devon demanded. "Ellie, start CPR if she loses a pulse."

Chuck was scared. It was the first time in 2 years, where everything was finally perfect; no spies, no danger, no Intersect, no worries. He had the company, the dream home, the woman he loves, his family back together, and finally, a beautiful baby girl—he had it all. But there was always something that managed to find its way to ruin Chuck's life. Why does this keep happening?

He glanced over at his wife—so fragile, so weak.

_You've taken a bullet for her before, why couldn't you do it again, Chuck?_

Distraught, he grabbed her hand and placed it at his heart.

"Baby, keep fighting… You can do this…" he leaned over and closed his eyes.

_"Chuck! This is beautiful!" She emphasized the word beautiful as she overlooked the island from the mountaintop. Chuck frowned._

_"Chuck, honey? What's wrong?" she was confused._

_"Nothing… It's just… You misused the word 'beautiful.'" He wrapped his arms around her. "How could you say something is 'beautiful', when the very definition of 'beautiful' is you? Nothing can ever compare!" he looked at his wife and smiled. She was blushing._

_"Well, Mrs. Bartowski, how about we walk back down to the house?" _

_"Let's go"_

_They were halfway down the mountain. Sarah danced in front of Chuck as they hiked down. She was smiling, he was laughing… Then it happened._

_"Sarah no! Get down!" he raced to get to her, but she was already on the ground._

Chuck jumped up when they arrived at the hospital. Ellie and Devon got out of the helicopter and grabbed the gurney. Chuck followed as they ran into the Hospital.

"Which OR is available?" Devon asked another doctor.

"OR-3 is empty, go!" a team of doctors followed Devon into the OR. Ellie stopped to make sure Chuck stayed behind.

"Chuck, you need to stay here." she held her arm out to stop Chuck.

"No! I _need_ to see my wife!" Chuck tried pushing her out of the way, but she stepped in front of him.

"Chuck, I know you're worried, but the best thing you can do is stay here and let Devon do his job." Ellie rubbed her hand on his back. "Let's go over there. You need to cool down, Chuck."

"Fine." He turned around the other direction and walked over to the waiting area and sat down.

* * *

><p>"Status, Dr. Woodcomb?"<p>

"She's got a weak pulse. Bullet punctured the heart, heavy internal bleeding." Devon checked her vitals. They were weak as well.

"Source of the bleeding?" the first doctor asked.

"Looks like the left atrium— I can't see anything; I need to cut her open." The other doctors hooked her up to a medical monitor and stuck another IV into her arm. Devon took the scalpel and removed the bullet.

_Come on, Sarah. Chuck needs you. **Your baby girl needs you.** Wait, is that a light? What the hell…?_

"Dr. Woodcomb! She's flat lining!"

"Damn it! Give me the defibrillator!" Devon grabbed the panels. "Nurse, gel!"

"Dr. Lance, 150 joules" He held them out diagonally across her chest. "Clear!"

Her chest jolted up to the fibrillation; nothing. _So this is it? You're just giving up? You need to fight Sarah!_

"200!" Devon held the panels out to her chest again. "Clear!"

Her chest jolted up again; nothing. Devon was in disbelief.

"One more time Dr. Lance, now!" Devon was freaking out. She can't just die now!

"Dr. Woodcomb..." the second doctor shook her head, signalling that she was gone. Devon's face hardened.

"No! we need to do something! CPR, life support, anything!" He couldn't let Chuck down.

"Dr. Woodcomb… She's gone. We can't do anything about it…" Devon couldn't believe it.

"Uhh… Um. Time of uh, death… 1300 hours, 13 minutes." he violently threw the paddles at the wall and stared.

* * *

><p><em>"Sarah… why…"<em>

_What the hell? She was in a white room, dressed in white, looking at a light. Is this it?_

_"Giving up is for the weak." A voice called. She turned around. _

_"Graham?" she was shocked to see him._

_"You can't just give up now, Sarah." He walked toward her._

_"But this is something I deserved. This never would have happened if I didn't force Chuck to move to hike with me. Dying is something I should've anticipated in the first place… Working for the CIA, missions, life-threatening situations… I've already seen the face of death so many times before. It's warned me to be careful, countless times. I've once betrayed the only man I've ever loved, and almost left him because of one, monumental, stupid mistake I made. I said 'Goodbye' to him for God's sake! You don't understand the extent of how much that hurts me to think about it, let alone how much it hurt him when I said it 2 years ago. **He took a bullet to save me, even when I deserved it the most. **Graham! I even confessed to him that I didn't feel the same way anymore. I even **convinced **myself I didn't feel the same way, after watching those videos. The day after the beach, my whole life has been a blur. If it wasn't for Chuck's love and faithfulness, my memory would have never completely come back to me. But this… I can **never** forgive myself for what I've done to everyone I really love… I feel like my time has come." She cried to the memories of her amnesia-induced state, 2 years ago._

_"No, it has not. You gave up the CIA and spying for a safer future. You met a very faithful, supportive and loving man. You were granted a very rare opportunity to fall in love twice with the one man you've only ever loved, because one lifetime with Chuck just wasn't enough. You re-married and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. That **never** should be something to give up. Nobody ever deserves to die, Sarah. It's not your time."_

_She stared at Graham. She had so many questions._

_"Sir…"_

_"Sarah, no. You need to go back. It's not your time. God gave you Chuck to give you another chance at life, when yours was almost completely gone. Don't give up now, just because you haven't forgiven yourself. God has forgiven you, and right now, he's giving you another chance." Graham looked at Sarah again._

_"Go back and do what you need to do. Samantha can't live a life without a mother, and Chuck will never be able to live a life without **you**. If you stay here, you're taking away from Chuck. That's something you've already done. Do **not** make that mistake again. I'll always be here, watching over you. You understand? Go back. Live your life. Chuck has given you a second chance at a new life. You need to live it." He winked at her one last time._

Her heart monitor was back up.

"Dr. Woodcomb! We have a heartbeat!" Devon jumped up and ran over to Sarah's side. Thank God, Sarah. They worked operated endlessly to stabilize her. Her breathing was shallow, so he hooked her up to a ventilator. He couldn't afford to lose her again.

* * *

><p>"Ellie, she's my everything. I need her. Samantha needs her." He straightened his back against the wall and looked at the ceiling.<p>

"I know Chuck. And Devon's doing everything he can." Ellie leaned over towards Chuck and hugged him.

"Hey babe," Devon showed up.

"Devon!" Ellie jumped up and hugged Devon. Chuck stood, awaiting the news.

"Well?" both of them insisted.

"We managed to stabilize her, but she's in a light coma. We've hooked her up to a ventilator; she's still not able to breathe on her own. Um," he hesitated to mention the fact that she actually died for a few minutes.

"What?" Chuck asked

"Well, she kind of… Died." Chuck's eyes widened

"But she's stable, Chuck. Don't worry buddy, she's going to be alright."

He was relieved to hear that his wife was going to be okay. He knew she was going to be alright. He believed in her. He always has.

"How about her memory? Do you think she's still in there?" He was worried about re-living past events... He couldn't afford to lose her again.

"I'll do a brain scan right after you go see her.. I'll be monitoring her brain activity, okay Chuck? Don't worry." Ellie smiled in reassurance.

"Oh. Okay. Uh, thanks El." He hugged her. "Um… When can I see her?"

"She's in room 143, under observation. She should be up in a few days. Uh, you can stay as long as you'd like, but you know… don't stay too long. Baby Sammy needs her daddy too." Captain Awesome explained, pulling Ellie closer.

"Thanks Devon."

"Anytime bro!"

Chuck walked away and pulled out his phone and scrolled down his contact list.

"Morgan! Buddy hey— I need you to get Alex to bring my daughter to Honolulu Gen."

"Yeah, dude, anything," Morgan paused. "Wait, Chuck, what's going on?"

"Um, Sarah's been shot, but she's stable for now. I just need you and Alex to bring Sammy here."

"Oh! Damn! Yeah! Okay, Chuck, anything you need!" Morgan hung up. Chuck kept walking down the hallway, looking for his wife's room.

"Hi? Hello nurse, uh, could you show me where room 143 is?" he was lost.

"Just around the corner, Mr. Carmichael." She pointed at the corner. Everyone knew Chuck well; he was a benefactor to the Hospital. Ever wonder how Ellie and Awesome got their jobs? Yeah. Chuck did it all for them.

"Oh, thank you nurse." He walked around the corner. "Ah, there it is." He opened the door and rushed to Sarah's side. I knew you could do it. A smile formed from the corner of his mouth. He kissed her forehead and grabbed a chair, placing it next to the bed.

_Ring, ring!_

Chuck picked up his phone.

"Hey dude! Where are you?"

"Room 143, D-wing."

"Alright, cool. Alex, Sammy and I will be there in like, 2 minutes."

"Okay, thanks buddy."


	2. Déjà vu

Morgan and Alex walked in through the door.

"Oh my God, is she okay?" Alex was worried. Morgan looked worried too.

"Awesome said she was going to be just fine."

Morgan walked over to Chuck and handed him the mobile crib. Chuck lifted her out and held his newborn baby.

"How's my baby girl?" he looked at her and smiled. She was asleep, but it was the most precious thing he'd ever seen. Chuck rocked her back and forth. He couldn't help but smile.

"Aww…" Alex was in awe. Chuck looked at his baby girl like she was made of gold; like he'd never seen anything like her before. Morgan smiled and put his arm over her shoulder.

"Thank you so much guys, I owe you a lot."

"Nah, man! _We_ owe you everything! I mean, you bought us a house; you contributed to our wedding, dude._ You_ gave us everything!" Alex nodded and smiled. So did Morgan.

"Yeah, Chuck. We still can't thank you enough. And you even bought my dad a house too; you're the most generous man I've ever met."

Chuck was honoured; they were happy, in love, living their lives. Honestly, Chuck was just happy he's still surrounded by the people that meant the most to him.

The door slowly opened from behind.

"John!"

"Dad!"

"Sir."

"Sorry I'm late. Had a last minute call with 5-0." John winked at his daughter. He brought Sarah some flowers.

"I heard what happened. I'm sorry I couldn't help, Chuck. But we will find the son of a bitch that did this to her." John looked at Chuck. "You have my word, always." Chuck nodded. He always appreciated it when John was around to help. He only worked part-time with Carmichael Industries and to protect Sarah, since they moved to Hawaii. He was offered a job opening as the Chief of Hawaii 5-0; he had been promoted to General, ever since saving Beckman from that stupid bomb planted under the damn chair.

John glanced at Sarah. She was his friend; he cared about her too. He was sympathetic, seeing her so fragile. Just like when he was in the hospital, 3 years ago.

"_How you doing, big guy?" Morgan pulled a chair closer to the bed. "Just checking in. I'm really glad you're out of the coma. Although, I do wish you were a little stronger. I know. It's just uh—I'm scared, Casey. And this is big, you know? The fact is, I've come to really… rely on you. And this is—this is me and Chuck; we're alone on this one…"_

He shook his and looked Sarah again. "We're going to find the bastard that did this. And when we do, I'm going to bury him."

"Thank you John." The corner of Chuck's mouth rose. John nodded.

"Oh, I gotta go. 5-0 just called for me—they're at Sarah's crime scene. Call me if there's an emergency, Chuck." he looked at baby Samantha. "See ya, Sammy."

He smiled again. "Morgan, Alex. I'll see you in a few hours, okay?" He kissed his daughter and left the room.

"Love you, dad."

"Sir." Morgan closed the door and walked up to Chuck.

"You know, I should get going. I need to go down to Carmichael Industries and manage everything while you and Sarah are here. I'll see you at dinner?"

"Yeah, sounds good Morgan. And thanks."

Morgan approached Alex and kissed her.

"Promise me you'll help Chuck with baby Sam?" He looked her in the eye.

"Of course, honey. I love you."

"I love _you."_

They kissed again, before Morgan left. Chuck watched the couple in awe. His best friend was finally a man.

"So how's newlywed life?" Chuck asked.

"It's so exciting! Oh my gosh, Chuck; we still can't thank you enough for you've done for us—the house, the wedding. It's perfect. Thank you." She went over and hugged him.

"Oof! Hey, Alex! It's all good! You know I'd do anything for you guys." He grinned and Alex returned a smile. She absolutely adored Chuck & Sarah. They were role models to her and Morgan, especially the story of their epic romance.

Baby Samantha was awake, but she didn't cry. In fact, she never really cried at all. Everyone thought it was odd she never cried; abnormal, almost. But Chuck thought it was pretty cool. Having a kid that never cried? He thought that because she never cried, it just meant she was a tough little thing; she had nothing to fear. Just like her mom…

He glanced over at Sarah again and sighed.

"Your mommy's going to be just fine, honey. Nothing to worry about…" He began singing to his daughter—one of his favourite tunes: "_You by the light, is the greatest find. In a world full wrong you're the thing that's right…"_

"Would you like me to take over?" Alex offered. "I mean, you need to spend some time with Sarah for a bit. I can take her down to her Auntie Ellie, if you'd like,"

"Uh, yeah, that would be great. Thanks Alex." He winked at her. "I'll join all of you later." She nodded and left the room, carrying Samantha to join Awesome and Ellie. Chuck sat back down in the chair, next to Sarah.

"Hey, baby. How you holding up? I'm glad you're doing okay," he held her hand. "I'm uh, I'm not sure if you can really hear me, but I'm really thankful you fought for me. It means the world to me—you mean the world to me. You and our daughter; you two are the shining stars in my life…" he moved the hair from her head and tucked it behind her ear. "But you're the one that holds it all together. Without you Sarah… I'm nothing. You're my whole world, my life. _You're my everything_. You were the one that I trusted from the start. You were the one that changed me into the man I am today. You fought for me, when no one else could. Without you, I still would have been the same, awkward, non-confident, dead-end Chuck, still working at the Buy More… I never would be where I am today. So thank you. For giving me everything I could have asked for—you, Samantha, everything." He leaned over to kiss her forehead. "But I need you to keep fighting for me. I need you to be okay. I love you, Sarah. I _always_ have, and I _always_ will. And I'm going to be the one to find the ungracious bastard that did this, and I'm going to _bury_ him."

He looked at her one last time and left the observational nurse in the room with her.

As he left the room, he picked up his phone and dialed his sister's number.

"Hey, Ellie. Where are you guys?"

"Oh, we're down at the café on ground floor. Want a coffee or something?"

"Um, no thanks. I'm good. Is Alex and Samantha with you?"

"Yes they are, why?"

Chuck smiled. "Nothin'. Just making sure my daughter is safe." He loved hearing himself say 'Daughter.' It was one of his most favourite things in the world.

Ellie chuckled. "Aw, okay. Well hurry quick, Devon needs to prep for another surgery in 20 minutes."

"I'll be right there?"

"Okay. See ya!"

"See ya El."

He hung up. As he walked into the elevator, he received a text from Morgan.

_Holy Frak! Dude, you're never going to guess  
>who I think just popped into<br>Carmichael Industries Headquarters…_

Chuck was curious. He sent Morgan a text back.

_Um, let me guess, the guy  
>that plays that cop dude on that<br>horrible re-make of Hawaii Five-0 from CBS?_

He snickered and put his phone into his pocket as he walked into the café. He spotted his sister, brother-in-law and Alex immediately.

"Hey Chuck!" she hugged him again. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"Dude, your wife's just been shot, she literally died for 5 minutes, and now there's a psycho doucherocket running around Hawaii. Bro, you need to do something!" Devon was worried.

"Yeah, I know. Casey's working on it right now. I'm heading down to CI in a few to check up on Morgan… Someone popped down there, I need to take care of that before Morgan loses his mind." He chuckled.

"Alright, bro. Take care." Devon nodded as he left. Before Chuck could say anything else Morgan sent another text.

_No! What? CBS? Really bro?  
>No. Dude, I'm not sure if it's a ghost or a<br>douchebag that looks exactly  
>like the dead, but it's Bryce freaking Larkin…<em>

Chuck's eyes widened at his phone. He read the last line over and over again. _Bryce… Larkin?_

"Chuck? What's wrong? It's like you've seen a ghost!" Ellie and Alex stared at him. He put his phone down and looked at them.

"Bryce… Larkin… He's still _alive_. And he's walked right into Carmichael Industries…" He tried not to freak out. He grabbed his phone and activated an emergency protocol. He was ready for something like this to happen. He tapped the button, and the phone did the rest. He called Morgan again.

"Morgan! Okay, you need to call Casey, right now! I don't know what the hell Bryce wants, but he's NOT going to just prance his way back into my life and ruin it again. Buddy, call John _now!"_

He hung up and scrolled down his contact list, sending an auto-text to one of his drivers.

"I'm sorry guys, I need to go! Alex, I trust you'll take care of her right?"

"Of course, Chuck. You have my word." She nodded.

"I love you El. I'll see you later." He quickly hugged her and ran out of the hospital.

Outside, his personal driver, Travis, was waiting for him. Chuck jumped into the back of the limo.

"To CIH, please." He ordered.

"You got it boss." Travis turned around and drove off.

_What the hell, Bryce, I saw you get shot. How are you alive __**again?**_

In ten minutes, they arrived.

"Thanks buddy," he tipped him a 50 dollar bill. Chuck opened the door and ran into the building. As he opened the doors, he spotted Morgan pointing a tranq gun at Bryce; Casey locking his gun on him. Bryce turned around to see what was going on.

"Chuck Bartowski. Or is it Charles Carmichael?" he grinned.

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face, why the hell are you _here,_ and how the hell are you still _alive?"_

"Ouch, Chuck. I thought you'd be more welcoming than that." He put his hand over his heart, like it was broken. "I wanted to see Sarah again."

"Too bad bro, she's _happily married."_ Morgan sneered.

"To him," Casey taunted. Bryce saw the ring on Chuck's finger. Bryce was surprised. His heart sort of sunk.

"Now what do you want, Bryce?" Chuck glared at him.

"I just want to talk, Chuck."

"About what?

"I'll tell you if Casey puts the gun down."

"Oh, hell no!" John shook his head.

"Bryce, last time you 'died,' Fulcrum brought you back to life. What other agency decided to bring you back, who are you working for, and _why are you here?"_

"Woah, there buddy. Calm down. I'm not going to hurt any of you, you have my word—

"You'd better stick to that. _I have a daughter_ and a _wife_ to take care of." Bryce nodded.

"Casey, room 123. We can 'chat' in there." John pushed Bryce down the hallway.

The employees at CI were scared. Chuck assured them everything was going to be fine.


	3. Reconnection

The interview room was getting hot. Chuck was furious. The one person who was his only friend back at Stanford ended up stealing the Intersect, but later proving himself to not be rogue? Fulcrum, The Ring & Shaw, Volkoff and Quinn has already been taken down; there was no point in him just stumbling his way back into Chuck's life again. This cannot just be a coincidence.

"What are you really here for, Bryce?"

"Okay, look, Chuck. This isn't easy for me to say—

"Spill it." Chuck looked at him insolently and crossed his arms.

"I was in love with Sarah, okay?"

"Ugh." Casey groaned. Morgan glared at him.

"Look, I just wanted to see her again, but when I heard about Carmichael Industries, your successes, I needed to see it for myself. I wanted to see that you'd find success and happiness after the Intersect, make sure I didn't really ruin your life that bad... I thought Sarah and Casey were still around because you are still a very valuable man. And honestly, I thought I still had a chance with her… I thought she was single. I couldn't be more wrong. Her relationship status was not in the report. And when I saw the ring on your finger, it was too good to be true. I didn't know you were the one to marry her. I've been a spy for so many years; been trained to shut off all my emotions, but she made me feel it; love. My heart broke when she declined to take over the Intersect project with me four years ago. And my heart broke again when I saw your ring. Chuck, I know you hate me for 'ruining' your life, but I did it all to help you…" Bryce shrugged.

"Bryce, you just confessed your love for _my wife!_ I'm not okay with this!" He was about to explode. "How did sending me the Intersect, getting me tangled in the spy world, living each and every day in danger and fear, constantly worrying that someone would try and kill me for the damned computer that was _in my head_, desperately trying to find a new way to get it out and away from me _for five years_ possibly help me?" Chuck was on the verge of yelling, but reserved his anger.

"'You don't get it do you!"

"Talk." Chuck demanded. Bryce took a big breath.

"Chuck! I sent the Intersect to you, _because I cared about you._" Morgan and Casey looked at Bryce weirdly. He took another breath.

"You were and still are my only friend in this world. _You_ were the only one I trusted in University. _You_ were the only person I could relate to. _You_ were the person that found a way around my walls, Chuck; _you._" His face had a subtle expression. "You made me kind of... Soft." He muttered under his breath. Chuck heard it nonetheless.

"You were like a brother to me, Chuck; I cared. I never really had a good family, but you—you were like a true brother anyway. It hurt me when I had to lie to Professor Fleming about you cheating, Chuck. It hurt me when you got expelled, and it hurt me, knowing that I'd completely screwed up everything I'd built with you over the year. But I did it, so you wouldn't become like me…" he paused. "So you wouldn't become a cold-hearted killer like I am." Chuck thought about what he had just said. He was surprised, but appreciated the truth, after all these years.

"Okay, Bryce. But I still got tangled with the spy crap _anyway._ What difference did getting me kicked out of Stanford and scarring my life even make?"

"The _difference_ was that you met Sarah, Chuck. You met Sarah and Casey. The _difference_ is that you found your father, allowing him to walk Ellie down the aisle. The _difference_ is that you finally found your mother and finally came to terms with her disappearance for 21 years. The _difference_, Chuck, is you took down Fulcrum, The Ring, Volkoff Industries and Nicholas Quinn, because nobody else could. Chuck—the difference is, I _saved_ your life." He had a fostering look on his face.

Chuck never thought about it that way. _Because of Bryce, you never would've met Sarah, married her, had Samantha, befriend Casey allowing Morgan to meet Alex or get married to her, or found dad or mom. If it wasn't for Bryce, Daniel Shaw and The Ring would've taken over the world by now. If it wasn't for Bryce, you still would've been awkward and working at the Buy More instead of becoming the second richest man on earth and owning the world's finest computer-security firm...  
><em>

He was at a loss. He thought hard and well that his best friend in university wasn't the man he thought he'd be.

"Wow. I… Uh. I'm sorry, Bryce."

"It's fine, Chuck. I knew I should have told you, but I was already with the agency. This is my fault; I should've given you a heads up. And I know you probably hate me—

"No, Bryce. I… I'm sorry. It's not your fault; it's mine." Chuck apologized. He actually felt really bad.

"I spent a third of my life thinking you were the worst person in the world; that you didn't want anything but to ruin my life, but I realize you really did help me. And I know 'sorry' will never cut it, but will you forgive me?" Bryce nodded his head. "Can I do anything for you?"

"You don't need to do anything for me, Chuck. I just need to show you something," he pulled out a USB drive from his pocket.

"Hey, Morgan. Can you grab a laptop from Human Resources?" Chuck looked at his best friend.

"Anything, buddy." He left the room to grab a computer.

"Morgan, wait up." Casey followed him out.

"Hey, Chuck. I know it's like, six years overdue, but I'm sorry too. I never meant to permanently hurt you. I just need to know that I did it for you. I wanted to give you a life I never would have gotten. Granted, the spy world was going to be involved anyway, but I gave you the better option. And I really just wanted to make amends now you know the truth." He held his hand out. "I'm asking for forgiveness."

Chuck was apologetic. It was good, finally knowing the truth. He shook Bryce's hand.

"Yeah man. Gosh, I feel like such a jerk now. I didn't know, Bryce. I'm sorry for the incredibly heavy accusations for the past twelve years, dude. Forgive me?"

"Of course." Both of them chuckled. It was humbling, knowing that Bryce never really ruined his life, but helped it. He smiled to the thought of attempting to repair their broken friendship.

Casey and Morgan walked in through the door.

"Hey, Chuck. 5-0 found a lead, I gotta go. But I'll definitely call people from the CIA and NSA to help you okay? This bastard isn't going to see the light of day." John nodded.

"Um, yeah. Thanks, John. Dinner at my place tonight?"

"Sounds great." He looked at Bryce. "Bryce. If you do anything stupid, I have a bullet with your name on it." Bryce nodded.

"Sir." Morgan said as Casey closed the door. Morgan was accustomed to calling his father-in-law 'Sir'. He knew he was an army General and the Chief of the Honolulu police department. One wrong move with him or his daughter, and he'd a have a bullet between his eyes, courtesy of General John Casey.

"Okay, Chuck. Here's the computer. If there's encrypted files on that USB, it might take time for our systems to decrypt them, though." Morgan handed the computer to Chuck. Bryce handed over the flash drive.

"Thanks, Morgan. So what's on here Bryce?"

"Old Intersect files, reports, everything that had to do with the intersect." Chuck's eyes widened again.

"No. no, no, no, no, no Bryce. The Intersect almost ruined my life—I almost lost Sarah to the Intersect, Bryce. I can't stand to look at anything Intersect-related anymore." His heart started beating faster.

"Wait, _Sarah_ downloaded it?" Bryce was in shock.

"Yes she did. But she did it to save herself and John, even when she knew that there was a Trojan horse in the version she downloaded." Chuck frowned. He hated going over this again. Bryce just stared.

"Yeah, of course. Um. So wait, can you go over your whole story again? From when Sarah downloaded the Intersect," He was concerned. _If I'm right… then this is bigger than I thought._

Chuck swallowed hard. He didn't like telling this story. In fact, he tried to forget it ever happened.

"Fine. But I'm going to tell you our romance to make it sound less _sad." _ He started.

"Two years ago, in January, when everything was going perfectly, I was captured by Nicholas Quinn, as an attempt to steal the very last upload of a pristine version of the Intersect 2.0; the one that had absolutely no flaws, Trojan horses, anything. Sarah had downloaded the version Morgan had; the one with a Trojan horse. The one that wasn't developed by the agency… Someone else had created it to wipe our team. When I was captured, Sarah tried handing the glasses over to get me back, but Quinn shook the deal, almost killed Casey and Sarah to get them. He never intended to let me go. So he took me to this stupid little bullet train in Japan so I could try and fix the Intersect if he got his hands on it. Long story short, he never downloaded the Intersect; I did. Sarah killed him, but I lost her in the process. He took her memories and the infected Intersect from her. I turned down the CIA's job offer and requested Beckman to remove the Intersect—I didn't want it in my head, knowing that the damn thing caused me to lose the only person that meant everything to me. I spent two very hard years trying to get her back. I loved her too much to let her go. So that one night on the beach, when I saved the day again, I found her sitting alone… And I asked her to trust me, because I never stopped trusting her. And when I asked her to trust me… I told her our story. _Our whole lives together._ And I have no clue what might've happened, but she asked me to kiss her. She said she wanted to fix this, because she was starting to feel; she started feeling the way she did way before Quinn stole her memory. She admitted that she had always felt something for me, and told me out of all the opportunities she had to kill me... She didn't because she felt it. I let her stay at my apartment, and it took 2 years to get her memory back completely. It was a miracle how she started remembering the little things. I wept, Bryce. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. _My_ _Sarah_, remembered. She slowly remembered her first year in Burbank; when I confessed I loved her; when she confessed she was in love with me. She remembered our wedding, the dream house with the red door and picket fence… She remembered everything. She fell in love with me, all over again, all on her own. We re-married on the same day of our first marriage, and a year later, our daughter was born." He smiled. "Point is Bryce, I never want to see the damned thing, or anything related to it, ever again. It almost destroyed my family, and my life. It sure as hell left the biggest damn scars. I can't do this again, Bryce." He felt better telling the second half of the story. But it still hurt Chuck, having to re-live those past events. Bryce nodded sympathetically.

"Chuck," Bryce was staring at the floor. "The Intersect she and Morgan downloaded… Weren't from the agency at all. This is worse than I thought."

Chuck panicked.

"What? What's going on! Tell me now!"

"Those glasses weren't sent from Daniel Shaw, or Decker, or whoever the hell worked that mini-conspiracy against you. This is bigger than we thought."

"We?" Chuck moved his head closer. Bryce sighed.

"Myself and the agency." He looked at Chuck. Chuck was confused. "I just recently came back to the agency, and Beckman put me in charge of this project. After the events of Nicholas Quinn, the CIA rendered you, Sarah, your family, Morgan, Casey's daughter and Casey himself as vulnerable; you were well known to even the enemy agencies. Sarah downloading the Intersect was never in the report either… But it does explain why she was a person of interest for a bit. Anyway, Beckman needed to make sure nothing would happen to you guys again, so she created a special team—an undercover special ops team to protect you guys, without notice. These people were sent into Casey's 5-0 team to watch him. Some others were sent to work undercover at the hospital, to watch over your sister and her husband. Others were sent to watch you and Sarah on a daily basis—Chuck, there's even people in your company constantly watching over you. When she sent the protection detail to Hawaii, she ordered deeper Intersect research; she sensed a bigger picture, but couldn't piece it together. _Why Chuck? Why the Bartowski family?_ Questions like those caused her to turn this into a National Security matter. The Bartowski was a normal family; your grandfather Chuck, was a Californian farmer. His wife was a social worker. Your dad was never a CIA scientist, he was a University professor. _Someone_ caused Stephen J. Bartowski to become sucked into the world of spies, because of a file that someone left at his desk. That _someone _is the reason he couldn't stop his work, and he died because of that _someone."_

Chuck couldn't believe this. _Why is this __**happening**__ again?_ He was furious.

"Who's this someone, Bryce?" Chuck was standing with his fists clenched.

"It's not just one person Chuck... But we believe_ Jill Roberts_ to be in on this..."

His eyes became filled with fear. Morgan was freaking out.

"What the hell! Where is she?"

"We believe she's in Hawaii… right now."

_Hawaii? Right Now!_

"Oh my God, Sarah!" Chuck panicked.

"Chuck, she could be at the hospital!"

"Bryce, we need to go _now!"_

Chuck, Morgan and Bryce ran down to the parking lot where Sarah's Lotus was and sped down to the hospital.


	4. Author's Note

A/N

Hey everyone, sorry for my extended absence! I know you guys were expecting a new chapter but sadly… No. I just needed to update everyone with what's been going on—I've been really busy with school, sports and church stuff. I haven't really had the chance to update for a new chapter. I'm so sorry guys! I'm experiencing hardcore writer's block right now. I have no idea what to do! But, I have a proposition! You, my lovely little reviewers, can contribute to this story! I'd be enlightened to listen to how you'd like things to go. Maybe help me kick start for a chapter 4? Thanks everyone for putting up with me, and again, I'm really sorry! Thanks for your support too! Reviews are always appreciated. And your thoughts and ideas! Become a co-author for my story! I'll get back to you guys as soon as I have the time to write a new chapter! I love you all!

-Jess


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